Musee Imaginaire

February 20, 2014

Words by Billie Jenkins

Musee Imaginaire is a collective of Newcastle based artists, curating weekly performances, talks and exhibitions. In a city rich with young talent they are growing with rapid momentum. Having already put on a bundle of interesting events, they have now received funding and developed a full, weekly programme that takes them far into the future. Built around the concept of a ‘museum without walls’ they aim to bring together some of the most interesting things around without any commitment to a style or ideal, allowing the wild and obscure to be shown alongside more traditional installations or film.

The highlight so far have included a strange, winding performance by Dawn Bothwell, who overlaps slowly spoken, deadpan lyrics over and over simple, stripped back electronic beats. Calmly guiding the simplicity to crescendo, the whole piece is delivered from behind a projected face, offering a sense of ritual to the experience. Examples of the work can be found here: soundcloud.com/pentecostalparty. Edwin Li’s performance of ’20th Century Fox and more: One Man’s Quest to Orchestrate Something Epic’, brought together frustratingly disparate sounds slowly together to recreate the 20th C Fox soundbite, impressing the audience with the sheer talent required to bring the piece together. Matthew de Kersaint Giraudeau’s narrative performance also wowed viewers with his stories of drinking around EDL pubs.

With a regular Wednesday night spot at The Newbridge Project, a place in this years Late Shows, and some extra curricular at a range of venues this is defiantly one to watch out for. For more info you can head to thenewbridgeproject.com/musee-imaginaire/ or check out our forthcoming profile in the Creative Directory.